The Art of Jia Wu

Jia Cheng Wu works at a bank –which doesn’t exactly match the profile for a passionate artist. But he is just that and his level of skill is otherworldly. But he doesn’t just create any art, Wu has perfected fantasy drawings and anime figures. His first exhibition - “The Art of Jia Wu” opens tomorrow at the image factory but we got a preview this morning.

Keith Swift Reporting,
These intricate, mesmerising drawings are the works of Jia Cheng Wu. But he didn’t do them on his computer -most of them were sketched by hand with a pencil or pen. He spared no detail –paying close attention to each centimetre.

Jia Cheng Wu, Artist
“Most of them are pencils, most of them are black and white, I have a few that are digital paintings and I have a few traditional paintings. Most of these works, I spent hours, sometimes days, and some of them took me about a year. Sometimes I take some rest in between and that is why some of them took so long. I want the viewing to be looking all about, not just seeing the whole idea. I want them to stare into the drawings and keep looking for small things that will surprise them sometimes.”

Wu has been drawing since he was 7 and he says that now it has become a labour he loves.

Jia Cheng Wu,
“Art is not just drawing one specific topic, there is so much different style of art so I began to learn about the different styles and that is when I started drawing different things.”

Keith Swift,
“When you sit down to draw, what inspires you?”

Jia Cheng Wu,
“Sometimes it is the attention I get from people, sometimes it comes from music I listen to, and sometimes I do them because it is just fun to do and it’s relaxing.”

Relaxing to him and he hopes his art is inspiring to you.

Jia Cheng Wu,
“I just want people to be inspired in a way that anything is possible once you put your mind to it. That is the message.”

Tomorrow night’s opening starts at 7 and entrance is free.

http://www.7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=15399

Jia Cheng Wu’s art exhibit opens at Image Factory

Opening tonight at the Image Factory is an art exhibition by twenty-three year old Jia Cheng Wu, an employee of Belize Bank. Wu, originally from China, grew up and studied in Belize. In 2006 he became the first Belizean to win the regional Caribbean Secondary Examination Council’s award for art. While the budding artist has been sketching from an early age, he developed a passion for perfecting fantasy drawings and Japanese anime. The artwork includes color graphics and detailed shading in pencil on paper. The collection with all its intricate designs took Wu several years to put together.

Jia Cheng Wu, Artist
“Most of my works are fantasy artwork—those are the things that interest me. I’m looking forward to becoming a game designer one of these days or maybe a website designer. Most of my works are in black and white—I just love to draw in black and white. There are a few that you will see in color, but that is just because I’m fairly new to coloring. I started drawing ever since I was seven. Most of my drawings—some of them took hours, some of them took maybe ten hours or twenty, or sometimes even one hundred hours.”

Duane Moody
“Which would you say is your favorite and why?”

Jia Cheng Wu
“It would be that one over there—the one with three dragons in it. I like that one because I wanted to depict something that is cool and has this arrogant mood in it. I spent a lot of time doing that one; almost a hundred hours. When I was a child, you’re exposed to cartoons and later on in life, you find video games that have dragons in them—I’m just surrounded by them, that’s why I got into it. I want people to look at it and not only glimpse but look at every single detail and find something in it that is interesting to them. Sometimes I hide something in my drawing that comes like a surprise to them. Sometimes you get ideas from games, sometimes you get inspiration from music that you listen to and sometimes it’s from friends, but I think there is a point where you don’t look for inspiration no more but you want to become the person to inspire.”

The exhibit will be open until November twenty-third.

http://www.channel5belize.com/archive_detail_story.php?story_id=25711